NASA telescope reveals universe expanding faster than ever – and nobody knows why

The James Webb Telescope – the most powerful telescope NASA has ever made – has confirmed the universe is expanding faster than ever, but scientists still don’t know why. 

Astronomers have known that the universe is expanding for a long time. 

In 1998, scientists discovered that the rate of this expansion was increasing. 

However, it’s never fully been understood why – but now the James Webb Telescope could help provide some answers. 

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The James Webb telescope confirmed the universe is expanding faster

The James Webb Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021, and is the largest telescope in space – able to produce sharper and more detailed images than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Since its launch, it’s made several remarkable discoveries, including one that was once believed to be impossible and another that revealed some previously unidentified frozen objects in Pluto’s orbit. 

Now, the telescope has confirmed measurements previously collected by the Hubble Space Telescope that show the universe is expanding faster than it did in the past. 

By confirming those initial findings, the James Webb Telescope has shown that there’s something unusual going on, rather than a simple error in Hubble’s measurements. 

What the telescope hasn’t been able to shed light on, is exactly what is causing this increased rate of expansion. 

A new study, which was published in The Astrophysics Journal this month, suggests that the difference between the observed rate of expansion and the rate cosmology models estimate it should be – a phenomenon dubbed the ‘Hubble tension’ is caused by something we don’t yet know or understand. 

Meaning there could be an as-yet-unknown force at work or it might simply point to a lack of understanding about how the universe works. 

NASA scientists still don’t understand why

“The discrepancy between the observed expansion rate of the universe and the predictions of the standard model suggests that our understanding of the universe may be incomplete,” said Adam Riess, the lead author of a new study about the findings. 

“With two NASA flagship telescopes now confirming each other’s findings, we must take this [Hubble tension] problem very seriously —it’s a challenge but also an incredible opportunity to learn more about our universe.”

Although scientists are still in the dark about what’s behind the faster-than-expected expansion rate, a few theories are being floated around. 

“One possible explanation for the Hubble tension would be if there was something missing in our understanding of the early universe, such as a new component of matter – early dark energy – that gave the universe an unexpected kick after the big bang,”  Marc Kamionkowski, a Johns Hopkins cosmologist, said in a statement. 

“And there are other ideas, like funny dark matter properties, exotic particles, changing electron mass, or primordial magnetic fields that may do the trick. Theorists have license to get pretty creative.”

So, watch this…umm…space.